Thomas Jefferson and swavery

Thomas Jefferson's views on swavery are compwex. Jefferson consistentwy spoke out against de turpitude of swavery and worked graduawwy to end de practice of swavery whiwe he owned over 600 African-American swaves droughout his aduwt wife and freed onwy seven, uh-hah-hah-hah.[1][2][3] Hence, dere is considerabwe schowarwy discussion dat his anti-swavery views were merewy wip reverence.

In 1767 at age 24, Jefferson inherited 5,000 acres of wand and 52 swaves by his fader's wiww. In 1768, Jefferson began construction of his Monticewwo pwantation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Through his marriage to Marda Waywes in 1772 and inheritance from his fader-in-waw John Waywes, in 1773 Jefferson inherited two pwantations and 135 swaves. By 1776, Jefferson was one of de wargest pwanters in Virginia. However, de vawue of his property (wand and swaves) was increasingwy offset by his growing debts, which made it very difficuwt to free his swaves and dereby wose dem as assets.[4]

In his writings on American grievances justifying de Revowution, he attacked de British for sponsoring de swave trade to de cowonies. In 1778, wif Jefferson's weadership, swave importation was banned in Virginia, one of de first jurisdictions worwdwide to do so. Jefferson was a wifewong advocate of ending de trade and as president wed de effort to criminawize de internationaw swave trade dat passed Congress and he signed in 1807, shortwy before Britain passed a simiwar waw.[5]

In 1779, as a practicaw sowution to end swavery, Jefferson supported graduaw emancipation, training, and cowonization of African-American swaves rader dan unconditionaw manumission, bewieving dat reweasing unprepared swaves wif no pwace to go and no means to support demsewves wouwd onwy bring dem misfortune. In 1784, Jefferson proposed federaw wegiswation banning swavery in de New Territories of de Norf and Souf after 1800, which faiwed to pass Congress by one vote.[6][7] In his Notes on de State of Virginia, pubwished in 1785, Jefferson expressed de bewiefs dat swavery corrupted bof masters and swaves awike, supported cowonization of freed swaves, suspected dat African-Americans were inferior in intewwigence, and dat emancipating warge numbers of swaves made swave uprisings more wikewy.[8] In 1794 and 1796, Jefferson manumitted by deed two of his mawe swaves; dey had been trained and were qwawified to howd empwoyment.

Most historians bewieve dat after de deaf of his wife Marda, Jefferson had a wong-term rewationship wif a swave who might have been Marda's hawf-sister, Sawwy Hemings.[9][10] Jefferson awwowed two of Sawwy Hemings's surviving four chiwdren to "escape", de oder two he freed drough his wiww after his deaf. The chiwdren were de onwy famiwy to gain freedom from Monticewwo.[11] In 1824, Jefferson proposed a nationaw pwan to end swavery by de federaw government purchasing African-American swave chiwdren for $12.50, raising and training dem in occupations of freemen, and sending dem to de country of Santo Domingo. In his wiww, Jefferson freed dree oder mawe swaves, aww owder men who had worked for him for decades.[11] In 1827, de remaining 130 swaves at Monticewwo were sowd to pay de debts of Jefferson's estate.[12][13][14]

Thomas Jefferson was born into de pwanter cwass of a "swave society," as defined by de historian Ira Berwin, in which swavery was de main means of wabor production and ewite swavehowders were de ruwing cwass.[15] He was de son of Peter Jefferson, a prominent swavehowder and wand specuwator in Virginia, and Jane Randowph, granddaughter of Engwish and Scots gentry.[16] Peter Jefferson died suddenwy in 1757, weaving de 14-year-owd Thomas a warge estate. When Jefferson turned 21, he inherited 5,000 acres (20 km2) of wand, 52 swaves, wivestock, his fader's notabwe wibrary, and a gristmiww.[17][18] In 1768, Thomas Jefferson began to use his swaves to construct a neocwassicaw mansion known as Monticewwo, which overwooked de hamwet of his former home in Shadweww.[16] Bof were in Awbemarwe County in de Piedmont area.

Starting in 1769, Jefferson served in de Virginia House of Burgesses for six years. He proposed waws dat severewy restricted free bwacks from entering or wiving in Virginia: he wouwd have banished chiwdren whose faders were of African origin and exiwed any white woman who had a chiwd wif a bwack man, uh-hah-hah-hah. Jefferson suggested dat any free bwack found in viowation of de waws wouwd be in jeopardy of de wynch mob. According to de historian John Ferwing, de Burgesses did not pass de waws "because dey were excessivewy restrictive even for Jefferson's times."[19]

As an attorney, Jefferson represented peopwe of cowor as weww as whites. In 1770, he defended a young muwatto mawe swave in a freedom suit, on de grounds dat his moder was white and freeborn, uh-hah-hah-hah. By de cowony's waw of partus seqwitur ventrum, dat de chiwd took de status of de moder, de man shouwd never have been enswaved. He wost de suit.[20] In 1772, Jefferson represented George Manwy, de son of a free woman of cowor, who sued for freedom after having been hewd as an indentured servant dree years past de expiration of his term. (The Virginia cowony at de time bound iwwegitimate mixed-race chiwdren of free women as indentured servants: untiw age 31 for mawes, wif a shorter term for femawes.)[21] Once freed, Manwy worked for Jefferson at Monticewwo for wages.[21]

In 1773, de year after Jefferson married de young widow Marda Waywes Skewton, her fader died. She and Jefferson inherited his estate, incwuding 11,000 acres, 135 swaves, and £4,000 of debt. Wif dis inheritance, Jefferson became deepwy invowved wif interraciaw famiwies and financiaw burden, uh-hah-hah-hah. As a widower, his fader-in-waw John Waywes had taken his muwatto swave Betty Hemings as a concubine and had six chiwdren wif her during his wast 12 years.[22] The Waywes-Hemings chiwdren were dree-qwarters Engwish and one-qwarter African in ancestry; dey were hawf-sibwings to Marda Waywes Jefferson and her sister. Betty Hemings and her 10 mixed-race chiwdren (4 of which she had before being wif Waywes) were among de swaves who were moved to Monticewwo. Betty's youngest chiwd, Sawwy Hemings, was an infant in 1773. Betty Hemings' descendants were trained and assigned to domestic service and highwy skiwwed artisan positions at Monticewwo; none worked in de fiewds. Over de years, some served Jefferson directwy for decades as personaw vawets and butwers.

These additionaw swaves made Jefferson de second-wargest swavehowder in Awbermarwe County. In addition, he hewd nearwy 16,000 acres of wand in Virginia. He sowd some swaves to pay off de debt of Waywes' estate.[16] From dis time on, Jefferson took on de duties of owning and supervising his warge chattew estate, primariwy at Monticewwo, awdough he awso devewoped oder pwantations in de cowony. Swavery supported de wife of de pwanter cwass in Virginia.[23] The number of swaves den at Monticewwo fwuctuated from under to over 200.

In cowwaboration wif Monticewwo, now de major pubwic history site on Jefferson, de Smidsonian opened an exhibit, Swavery at Jefferson's Monticewwo: The Paradox of Liberty, (January – October 2012) at de Nationaw Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. It covered Jefferson as a swavehowder and de roughwy 600 swaves who wived at Monticewwo over de decades, wif a focus on six swave famiwies and deir descendants. It was de first nationaw exhibit on de Maww to address dese issues. In February 2012, Monticewwo opened a rewated new outdoor exhibition, Landscape of Swavery: Muwberry Row at Monticewwo, which "brings to wife de stories of de scores of peopwe—enswaved and free—who wived and worked on Jefferson's 5,000 acre pwantation, uh-hah-hah-hah." (On de Internet at http://www.swaveryatmonticewwo.org/muwberry-row )

In de originaw draft of de Decwaration of Independence Jefferson accused King George III of fostering cowoniaw swavery, encouraging American swaves to revowt, and condoning de African swave trade.

In 1775, Thomas Jefferson joined de Continentaw Congress as a dewegate from Virginia when he and oders in Virginia began to rebew against de British governor Lord Dunmore. Trying to reassert British audority over de area, Dunmore issued a Procwamation in November 1775 dat offered freedom to swaves who abandoned deir rebew masters and joined de British army.[24] Dunmore's action provoked de mass exodus of tens of dousands of swaves from pwantations across de Souf during de war years; some of Jefferson's swaves awso took off as runaways.[25]

The cowoniaws opposed Dunmore's action as an attempt to incite a massive swave rebewwion, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 1776, when Jefferson co-audored de Decwaration of Independence, he referred to de Lord Governor when he wrote, "He has excited domestic insurrections among us."[26][27] In de originaw draft of de Decwaration, Jefferson condemned King George III of forcing de African swave trade on de American cowonies and "inciting American Negroes to rise in arms against deir masters." [28][29][30][31] The Continentaw Congress, however, due to Soudern opposition, forced Jefferson to purge dis wanguage in de finaw draft of de Decwaration, uh-hah-hah-hah.[28][32][33][34][35] Jefferson did manage to make a generaw criticism against swavery by maintaining "aww men are created eqwaw."[28] Jefferson did not directwy condemn domestic swavery as such in de Decwaration, as Jefferson himsewf was a swaveowner. According to Finkewman, "The cowonists, for de most part, had been wiwwing and eager purchasers of swaves."[36]

In 1778 wif Jefferson's weadership and probabwy audorship, de Virginia Generaw Assembwy banned importing swaves into Virginia. It was one of de first jurisdictions in de worwd to ban de swave trade, and aww oder states except Souf Carowina eventuawwy fowwowed prior to de Congress banning de trade in 1807.[37][38][39]

As governor of Virginia for two years during de Revowution, Jefferson signed a biww to promote miwitary enwistment by giving white men wand, "a heawdy sound Negro...or £60 in gowd or siwver."[40] As was customary, he brought some of his househowd swaves, incwuding Mary Hemings, to serve in de governor's mansion in Richmond. In de face of British invasion in January 1781, Jefferson and de Assembwy members fwed de capitaw and moved de government to Charwottesviwwe, weaving Jefferson's swaves behind. Hemings and oder swaves were taken as British prisoners of war; dey were water reweased in exchange for British sowdiers. In 2009, de Daughters of de Revowution (DAR) honored Mary Hemings as a Patriot, making her femawe descendants ewigibwe for membership in de heritage society.[41]

In June 1781, de British arrived at Monticewwo. Jefferson had escaped before deir arrivaw and gone wif his famiwy to his pwantation of Popwar Forest to de soudwest in Bedford County; most of his swaves stayed at Monticewwo to hewp protect his vawuabwes. The British did not woot or take prisoners dere.[42] By contrast, Lord Cornwawwis and his troops occupied and destroyed anoder Jefferson property, Ewkhiww in Goochwand County, Virginia, nordwest of Richmond. Of de 27 swaves dey took as prisoners, Jefferson water noted dat at weast 24 had died of disease in de prison camp.[43] Simiwarwy, more troops on bof sides died of disease dan of warfare in dose years of poor sanitation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Whiwe cwaiming since de 1770s to support graduaw emancipation, as a member of de Virginia Generaw Assembwy Jefferson decwined to support a waw to ask dat, saying de peopwe were not ready. After de United States gained independence, in 1782 de Virginia Generaw Assembwy repeawed de swave waw of 1723 and made it easier for swavehowders to manumit swaves. Unwike some of his pwanter contemporaries, such as Robert Carter III, who freed nearwy 500 swaves in his wifetime, or George Washington, who freed aww his swaves in his wiww of 1799, Jefferson formawwy freed onwy two swaves during his wife, in 1793 and 1794.[44][45] Virginia did not den reqwire freed swaves to weave de state. From 1782 to 1810, as numerous swavehowders freed deir swaves, de proportion of free bwacks in Virginia increased dramaticawwy from wess dan 1% to 7.2% of bwacks.[46] Jefferson water awwowed two swaves to "wawk away" in 1822, and freed five more in his wiww, but 130 swaves were sowd from Monticewwo in 1827 after his deaf.

Some historians have cwaimed dat, as a Representative to de Continentaw Congress, Thomas Jefferson wrote an amendment or biww dat wouwd abowish swavery. But according to Finkewman, "he never did propose dis pwan" and "Jefferson refused to propose eider a graduaw emancipation scheme or a biww to awwow individuaw masters to free deir swaves."[47] He refused to add graduaw emancipation as an amendment when oders asked him to; he said, "better dat dis shouwd be kept back."[47] In 1785, Jefferson wrote to one of his cowweagues dat bwack peopwe were mentawwy inferior to white peopwe, cwaiming de entire race was incapabwe of producing a singwe poet.[48]

On March 1, 1784, in defiance of soudern swave society, Jefferson submitted to de Continentaw Congress de Report of a Pwan of Government for de Western Territory.[7] "The provision wouwd have prohibited swavery in aww new states carved out of de western territories ceded to de nationaw government estabwished under de Articwes of Confederation, uh-hah-hah-hah." [6] Swavery wouwd have been prohibited extensivewy in bof de Norf and Souf territories, incwuding what wouwd become Awabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.[7] His 1784 Ordinance wouwd have prohibited swavery compwetewy by 1800 in aww territories, but was rejected by de Congress by one vote due to an absent representative from New Jersey.[7] However, on Apriw 23 Congress accepted Jefferson's 1784 Ordinance widout prohibiting swavery in aww de territories. Jefferson said dat soudern representatives defeated his originaw proposaw. Jefferson was onwy abwe to obtain one soudern dewegate to vote for de prohibition of swavery in aww territories.[7] The Library of Congress notes, "The Ordinance of 1784 marks de high point of Jefferson's opposition to swavery, which is more muted dereafter." [49][50] Jefferson's Ordinance of 1784 did infwuence de Ordinance of 1787, dat prohibited swavery in de Nordwest Territory.[7]

From de 1770s on, Jefferson wrote of supporting graduaw emancipation, based on swaves being educated, freed after 18 for women and 21 for men (water he changed dis to age 45, when deir masters had a return on investment), and transported for resettwement to Africa. Aww of his wife, he supported de concept of cowonization of Africa by American freedmen, uh-hah-hah-hah. The historian Peter S. Onuf suggested dat, after having chiwdren wif his swave Sawwy Hemings, Jefferson may have supported cowonization because of concerns for his unacknowwedged "shadow famiwy."[51]

The historian David Brion Davis states dat in de years after 1785 and Jefferson's return from Paris, de most notabwe ding about his position on swavery was his "immense siwence."[52] Davis bewieves dat, in addition to having internaw confwicts about swavery, Jefferson wanted to keep his personaw situation private; for dis reason, he chose to back away from working to end or amewiorate swavery.[52] M. Andrew Howowchak, acknowwedging dat de issue of swavery for Jefferson was a states-rights' issue, maintains dat Jefferson's avowed inactivity was de resuwt of a generaw pubwic unwiwwingness to advance de issue.[53] In an 1814 wetter to Edward Cowes, Jefferson begins by asserting dat his views on swavery “have wong since been in possession of de pubwic, and time has onwy served to give dem stronger root." He adds, fowwowing his views on human progress and generationaw sovereignty, dat he has “overwived de generation wif which mutuaw wabors & periws begat mutuaw confidence and infwuence.” Eradication of swavery is “for dose who can fowwow it up, and bear it drough to its consummation”—i.e., de young-and de young have not made de progress for which Jefferson had hoped on his return, uh-hah-hah-hah.

As US Secretary of State, Jefferson issued in 1795, wif President Washington's audorization, $40,000 in emergency rewief and 1,000 weapons to cowoniaw French swave owners in Saint Domingue (Haiti) in order to suppress a swave rebewwion, uh-hah-hah-hah. President Washington gave de swave owners in Saint Domingue (Haiti) $400,000 as repayment for woans de French had granted to de Americans during de American Revowutionary War.[54]

In 1796, according to de Constitution at de time, Jefferson became vice president after John Adams won swightwy more ewectoraw votes in deir competition for de presidency. Because dey were from different powiticaw parties, dey had difficuwty working togeder. (Later de Constitution was amended so dat candidates for dese two positions had to be ewected as a ticket representing de same powiticaw party.)

In 1800, Jefferson was ewected as President of de United States over Adams. He won more ewectoraw votes dan Adams, aided by soudern power. The Constitution provided for de counting of swaves as 3/5ds of deir totaw popuwation, to be added to a state's totaw popuwation for purposes of apportionment and de ewectoraw cowwege. States wif warge swave popuwations, derefore, gained greater representation even dough de number of voting citizens was smawwer dan dat of oder states. It was onwy due to dis popuwation advantage dat Jefferson won de ewection, uh-hah-hah-hah.[55][56] This advantage awso aided soudern states in deir Congressionaw apportionment; dus, de pwanter cwass hewd disproportionate power nationawwy for decades, and souderners dominated de office of de presidency weww into de 19f century.

Like oder swave-owning presidents, Jefferson brought swaves to work in de White House. He offered James Hemings, his former swave freed in 1796, de position of White House chef. Hemings refused, awdough his kin were stiww hewd at Monticewwo. (Hemings water became depressed and turned to drinking. He committed suicide at age 36 perhaps in a fit of ebriection, uh-hah-hah-hah.) Jefferson's swaves worked and wived in de White House, and at weast one wouwd eventuawwy be born dere.[57][58][59]

Jefferson feared a viowent swave revowt, dat was taking pwace in Haiti, couwd spread into de United States

After Toussaint Louverture had become governor generaw of Saint-Domingue fowwowing a swave revowt, in 1801 Jefferson supported French pwans to take back de iswand.[60] He agreed to woan France $300,000 "for rewief of whites on de iswand."[61] Jefferson wanted to awweviate de fears of soudern swave owners, who feared a simiwar rebewwion in deir territory.[62] Prior to his ewection, Jefferson wrote of de revowution, "If someding is not done and soon, we shaww be de murderers of our own chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah."[61]

By 1802, when Jefferson wearned dat France was pwanning to re-estabwish its empire in de western hemisphere, incwuding taking de Louisiana territory and New Orweans from de Spanish, he decwared de neutrawity of de US in de Caribbean confwict.[63] Whiwe refusing credit or oder assistance to de French, he awwowed contraband goods and arms to reach Haiti and, dus, indirectwy supported de Haitian Revowution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[63] This was to furder US interests in Louisiana.[61] Defeated in Saint-Domingue by wate 1803, de French widdrew from deir imperiaw ambitions in de western hemisphere, as dis cowony had generated de highest revenues. In 1803, Jefferson made de Louisiana Purchase.

That year and once de Haitians decwared independence in 1804, President Jefferson had to deaw wif strong hostiwity to de new nation by his soudern-dominated Congress. He shared pwanters' fears dat de success of Haiti wouwd encourage simiwar swave rebewwions and widespread viowence in de Souf. Historian Tim Matdewson noted dat Jefferson faced a Congress "hostiwe to Haiti", and dat he "acqwiesced in soudern powicy, de embargo of trade and nonrecognition, de defense of swavery internawwy and de denigration of Haiti abroad."[64] Jefferson discouraged emigration by American free bwacks to de new nation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[61] European nations awso refused to recognize Haiti when de new nation decwared independence in 1804.[65][66][67] In his short biography of Jefferson in 2005, Christopher Hitchens noted de president was "counterrevowutionary" in his treatment of Haiti and its revowution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[68]

Jefferson expressed ambivawence about Haiti. During his presidency, he dought sending free bwacks and contentious swaves to Haiti might be a sowution to some of de United States' probwems. He hoped dat "Haiti wouwd eventuawwy demonstrate de viabiwity of bwack sewf-government and de industriousness of African American work habits, dereby justifying freeing and deporting de swaves" to dat iswand.[69] This was one of his sowutions for separating de popuwations. In 1824, book peddwer Samuew Whitcomb, Jr. visited Jefferson in Monticewwo, and dey happened to tawk about Haiti. This was on de eve of de greatest emigration of U.S. Bwacks to de iswand-nation. Jefferson towd Whitcomb dat he had never seen Bwacks do weww in governing demsewves, and dought dey wouwd not do it widout de hewp of Whites.[70]

In 1806, wif concern devewoping over de rise in de number of free bwacks, de Virginia Generaw Assembwy modified de 1782 swave waw to discourage free bwacks from wiving in de state. It permitted re-enswavement of freedmen who remained in de state for more dan 12 monds. This forced newwy freed bwacks to weave enswaved kin behind. As swavehowders had to petition de wegiswature directwy to gain permission for manumitted freedmen to stay in de state, dere was a decwine in manumissions after dis date.[71][72]

In 1806, Jefferson denounced de internationaw swave trade and cawwed for a waw to make it a crime. He towd Congress in his 1806 annuaw message, such a waw was needed to "widdraw de citizens of de United States from aww furder participation in dose viowations of human rights ... which de morawity, de reputation, and de best interests of our country have wong been eager to proscribe." Congress compwied and on March 2, 1807, Jefferson signed de Act Prohibiting Importation of Swaves into waw; it took effect 1 January 1808 and made it a federaw crime to import or export swaves from abroad.[73] No such wegiswation couwd have taken effect prior to January 1, 1808, on account of de provisions of Articwe I, Section 9, Cwause 1, of de United States Constitution. By its Swave Trade Act 1807, Great Britain prohibited de swave trade in its cowonies. The nations cooperated in enforcing interdiction of de swave trade on open seas.

By 1808, every state but Souf Carowina had fowwowed Virginia's wead from de 1780s in banning importation of swaves. By 1808, wif de growf of de domestic swave popuwation enabwing devewopment of a warge internaw swave trade, swavehowders did not mount much resistance to de new waw, presumabwy because de audority of Congress to enact such wegiswation was expresswy audorized by de Constitution,[74] and was fuwwy anticipated during de Constitutionaw Convention in 1787. Jefferson did not wead de campaign to prohibit de importation of swaves.[75] Historian John Chester Miwwer rated Jefferson's two major presidentiaw achievements as de Louisiana Purchase and de abowition of de internationaw swave trade.[76]

In 1819, Jefferson strongwy opposed a Missouri statehood appwication amendment dat banned domestic swave importation and freed swaves at de age of 25 bewieving it wouwd destroy or break up de union, uh-hah-hah-hah.[77] By 1820, Jefferson, consistent wif his wifewong view dat swavery was an issue for each individuaw state to decide, objected to Nordern meddwing wif Soudern swavery powicy. On Apriw 22, Jefferson criticized de Missouri Compromise because it might wead to de breakup of de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. Jefferson said swavery was a compwex issue and needed to be sowved by de next generation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Jefferson wrote dat de Missouri Compromise was a "fire beww in de night" and "de kneww of de Union". Jefferson said dat he feared de Union wouwd dissowve, stating dat de "Missouri qwestion aroused and fiwwed me wif awarm." In regard to wheder de Union wouwd remain for a wong period of time Jefferson wrote, "I now doubt it much."[78][79]

Tadeusz Kościuszko

In 1798, Jefferson's friend from de Revowution, Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Powish nobweman and revowutionary, visited de United States to cowwect back pay from de government for his miwitary service. He entrusted his assets to Jefferson wif a wiww directing him to spend de American money and proceeds from his wand in de U.S. to free and educate swaves, incwuding Jefferson's, and at no cost to Jefferson, uh-hah-hah-hah. Kościuszko revised wiww states: "I hereby audorise my friend Thomas Jefferson to empwoy de whowe dereof in purchasing Negroes from among his own or any oders and giving dem Liberty in my name." Kosciuszko died in 1817, but Jefferson never carried out de terms of de wiww: At age 77, he pweaded an inabiwity to act as executor due to his advanced age[80] and de numerous wegaw compwexities of de beqwest—de wiww was contested by severaw famiwy members and was tied up in de courts for years, wong after Jefferson's deaf.[81] Jefferson recommended his friend John Hartweww Cocke, who awso opposed swavery, as executor, but Cocke wikewise decwined to execute de beqwest.[82] In 1852 de U.S. Supreme Court awarded de estate, by den worf $50,000, to Kościuszko's heirs in Powand, having ruwed dat de wiww was invawid.[83]

Jefferson continued to struggwe wif debt after serving as president. He used some of his hundreds of swaves as cowwateraw to his creditors. This debt was due to his wavish wifestywe, wong construction and changes to Monticewwo, imported goods, art, and wifewong issues wif debt, from inheriting de debt of fader-in-waw John Waywes to signing two 10,000 notes wate in wife to assist dear friend Wiwson Cary Nichowas, which proved to be his coup de grace. Yet he was merewy one of numerous oders who suffered crippwing debt around 1820. He awso incurred debt in hewping support his onwy surviving daughter, Marda Jefferson Randowph, and her warge famiwy. She had separated from her husband, who had become abusive from awcohowism and mentaw iwwness (according to different sources), and brought her famiwy to wive at Monticewwo. There was awso Jefferson's uncriticaw generosity. Overseer Francis Bacon writes: “Mr. Jefferson was very wiberaw and kind to de poor. When he wouwd come from Washington, de poor peopwe aww about de country wouwd find it out immediatewy and wouwd come in crowds to Monticewwo to beg him. He wouwd give dem notes to me directing me what to give dem.”[84] Moreover, upon retirement, he awwowed, or perhaps towerated, visitors at Monticewwo and fed dem, deir horses, and put dem up for de night, or wonger. Bacon says: “After Mr. Jefferson returned from Washington, he was for years crowded wif visitors, and dey awmost ate him out of house and home. … They travewed in deir own carriages and came in gangs—de whowe famiwy, wif carriage and riding horses and servants; sometimes dree or four such gangs at a time.” The 36 stawws for horses, 10 of which were in use by Jefferson, were “very often … fuww.” Aww de beds in Monticewwo were often in use, and at times Bacon wouwd have to wend his six spare beds for use at Monticewwo.[84]

In August 1814, de pwanter Edward Cowes and Jefferson corresponded about Cowes' ideas on emancipation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Jefferson urged Cowes not to free his swaves, but de younger man took aww his swaves to de Iwwinois and freed dem, providing dem wif wand for farms.[85][86]

In Apriw 1820, Jefferson wrote to John Howmes concerning swavery:

dere is not a man on earf who wouwd sacrifice more dan I wouwd, to rewieve us from dis heavy reproach [swavery] ... we have de wowf by de ear, and we can neider howd him, nor safewy wet him go. Justice is in one scawe, and sewf-preservation in de oder.[87][88]

Jefferson may have borrowed from Suetonius, a Roman biographer, de phrase "wowf by de ears", as he hewd a book of his works. Jefferson characterized swavery as a dangerous animaw (de wowf) dat couwd not be contained or freed. He bewieved dat attempts to end swavery wouwd wead to viowence.[89]

Despite his debt, Jefferson, in 1822, he awwowed Beverwy and Harriet Hemings to "wawk away", to weave Monticewwo and go norf, a few monds apart. He audorized Edmund Bacon, de overseer, to give Harriet $50 and to ensure dat she was put on a stagecoach to go norf. She was de onwy femawe swave he freed.

The U.S. Congress finawwy impwemented cowonization of freed African-American swaves by passing de Swave Trade Act of 1819 signed into waw by President James Monroe. The waw audorized funding to cowonize de coast of Africa wif freed African-American swaves. In 1824, Jefferson proposed an overaww emancipation pwan dat wouwd free swaves born after a certain date.[90] Jefferson proposed dat African-American chiwdren born in America be bought by de federaw government for $12.50 and dat dese swaves be sent to Santo Domingo.[90] Jefferson admitted dat his pwan wouwd be wiberaw and may even be unconstitutionaw, but he suggested a constitutionaw amendment to awwow congress to buy swaves. He awso reawized dat separating chiwdren from swaves wouwd have a humanitarian cost. Jefferson bewieved dat his overaww pwan was worf impwementing and dat setting over a miwwion swaves free was worf de financiaw and emotionaw costs.[90]

Jefferson's wiww of 1826 cawwed for de manumission of Sawwy Hemings' two remaining sons Madison and Eston Hemings, and dree owder men who had served him for decades and were from de warger Hemings famiwy. Jefferson incwuded a petition to de wegiswature to awwow de five men to stay in Virginia, where deir enswaved famiwies were hewd. This was necessary since de wegiswature tried to force free bwacks out of de state widin 12 monds of manumission, uh-hah-hah-hah.[citation needed]

At his deaf, Jefferson was greatwy in debt, in part due to his continued construction program.[91] The debts encumbered his estate, and his famiwy sowd 130 swaves, virtuawwy aww de members of every swave famiwy, from Monticewwo to pay his creditors.[92][93] Swave famiwies who had been weww estabwished and stabwe for decades were sometimes spwit up. Most of de sowd swaves eider remained in Virginia or were rewocated to Ohio.[94]

Jefferson freed five swaves in his wiww, aww mawes of de Hemings famiwy. Those were his two naturaw sons, and Sawwy's younger hawf-broder John Hemings, and her nephews Joseph (Joe) Fossett and Burweww Cowbert.[95] He gave Burweww Cowbert, who had served as his butwer and vawet, $300 for purchasing suppwies used in de trade of "painter and gwazier". He gave John Hemings and Joe Fossett each an acre on his wand so dey couwd buiwd homes for deir famiwies. His wiww incwuded a petition to de state wegiswature to awwow de freedmen to remain in Virginia to be wif deir famiwies, who remained enswaved under Jefferson's heirs.[95]

Because Jefferson did not free Fossett's wife or deir eight chiwdren, dey were sowd at auction, uh-hah-hah-hah. They were bought by four different men, uh-hah-hah-hah. Fossett worked for years to buy back his famiwy members. Whiwe Jefferson made no provision for Sawwy Hemings, his daughter gave de swave "her time", enabwing her to wive freewy wif her sons in Charwottesviwwe, where dey bought a house. She wived to see a grandchiwd born free in de house her sons owned. Wormwey Hughes was awso given an informaw freedom; he gained de cooperation of Thomas Jefferson Randowph in buying his wife and dree sons so dat some of his famiwy couwd stay togeder at Randowph's pwantation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

In 1827, de auction of 130 swaves took pwace at Monticewwo. The sawe wasted for five days despite de cowd weader. The swaves brought prices over 70% of deir appraised vawue. Widin dree years, aww of de "bwack" famiwies at Monticewwo had been sowd and dispersed.[93] Some were bought by free rewatives, such as Mary Hemings Beww, who worked to try to reconstitute her chiwdren's famiwies.

For two centuries de cwaim dat Thomas Jefferson fadered chiwdren by his swave, Sawwy Hemings, has been a matter of discussion and disagreement. In 1802, de journawist James T. Cawwender, after being denied a position as postmaster by Jefferson, pubwished awwegations dat Jefferson had taken Hemings as a concubine and had fadered severaw chiwdren wif her.[96]John Waywes hewd her as a swave, and was awso her fader, as weww as de fader of Jefferson's wife Marda. Sawwy was dree-qwarters white and strikingwy simiwar in wooks and voice to Jefferson's wate wife.[97]

In 1998, in order to estabwish de mawe DNA wine, a panew of researchers conducted a Y-DNA study of wiving descendants of Jefferson's uncwe, Fiewd, and of a descendant of Sawwy's son, Eston Hemings. The resuwts, pubwished in de journaw Nature,[98] showed a Y-DNA match wif de mawe Jefferson wine. In 2000, de Thomas Jefferson Foundation (TJF) assembwed a team of historians whose report concwuded dat, togeder wif de DNA and historic evidence, dere was a high probabiwity dat Jefferson was de fader of Eston and wikewy of aww Hemings' chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah. W. M. Wawwenborn, who worked on de Monticewwo report, disagreed, cwaiming de committee had awready made up deir minds before evawuating de evidence, was a "rush to judgement," and dat de cwaims of Jefferson's paternity were unsubstantiated and powiticawwy driven, uh-hah-hah-hah.[99]

Since de DNA tests were made pubwic, most biographers and historians have concwuded dat de widower Jefferson had a wong-term rewationship wif Hemings.[100] M. Andrew Howowchak, Robert Turner, and a team of professors associated wif de Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society, maintain dat de evidence is insufficient to concwude Thomas Jefferson's paternity, and note de possibiwity dat oder Jeffersons, incwuding Thomas's broder Randowph Jefferson and his five sons, who often fraternized wif swaves, couwd have fadered Hemings' chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah.[101][102][103] The issue is stiww contested.

Jefferson awwowed two of Sawwy's chiwdren to weave Monticewwo widout formaw manumission when dey came of age; five oder swaves, incwuding de two remaining sons of Sawwy, were freed by his wiww upon his deaf. Awdough not wegawwy freed, Sawwy weft Monticewwo wif her sons. They were counted as free whites in de 1830 census.[104][105] Madison Hemings, in an articwe titwed, "Life Among de Lowwy," in smaww Ohio newspaper cawwed Pike County Repubwican, cwaimed dat Jefferson was his fader.[106][107] Whiwe many schowars take Hemings' cwaims at face vawue, dere are reasons to be chary.[108]

Jefferson ran every facet of de four Monticewwo farms and weft specific instructions to his overseers when away or travewing. Swaves in de mansion, miww, and naiwery reported to one generaw overseer appointed by Jefferson, and he hired many overseers, some of whom were considered cruew at de time. Jefferson made meticuwous periodicaw records on his swaves, pwants and animaws, and weader.[109][110] Jefferson, in his Farm Book journaw, visuawwy described in detaiw bof de qwawity and qwantity of purchased swave cwoding and de names of aww swaves who received de cwoding.[111] In a wetter written in 1811, Jefferson described his stress and apprehension in regard to difficuwties in what he fewt was his "duty" to procure specific desirabwe bwankets for "dose poor creatures" – his swaves.[112]

Some historians have noted dat Jefferson maintained many swave famiwies togeder on his pwantations; historian Bruce Fehn says dis was consistent wif oder swave owners at de time. There were often more dan one generation of famiwy at de pwantation and famiwies were stabwe. Jefferson and oder swavehowders shifted de "cost of reproducing de workforce to de workers' demsewves". He couwd increase de vawue of his property widout having to buy additionaw swaves.[113] Jefferson encouraged swaves at Monticewwo to marry at Monticewwo. He wouwd occasionawwy buy and seww swaves to keep famiwies togeder. In 1815, he said dat his swaves were "worf a great deaw more" due to deir marriages.[114] Married swaves, however, had no wegaw protection or recognition by de waw; masters couwd separate swave husbands and wives any time desired.[115]

Jefferson generawwy gave incentives in money or cwodes to swaves for work in important positions. His swaves probabwy worked from dawn to dusk. Awdough no record exists dat Jefferson organized formaw instruction of swaves, severaw enswaved men at Monticewwo couwd read and write.[citation needed]

Jefferson worked swave boys ages 10 to 16 in his naiw factory on Muwberry Row. After it opened in 1794, for de first dree years, Jefferson recorded de productivity of each chiwd. He sewected dose who were most productive to be trained as artisans: bwacksmids, carpenters, and coopers. Those who performed de worst were assigned as fiewd waborers.[116]

Jefferson frowned against de use of physicaw punishment of his swaves, but it was practiced in his absence. When a 17-year-owd James was sick, one overseer reportedwy whipped him "dree times in one day." Viowence was commonpwace on pwantations, incwuding Jefferson's.[117] The Thomas Jefferson Foundation qwotes Jefferson's instructions his overseers not to whip his swaves, but noted dat dey often ignored his wishes during his freqwent absences from home.[118] According to Stanton, no rewiabwe document portrays Jefferson as directwy using physicaw correction, uh-hah-hah-hah.[119] During Jefferson's time, some oder swavehowders awso disagreed wif de practices of fwogging and jaiwing swaves.[120]

Swaves had a variety of tasks: Davy Bowwes was de carriage driver, incwuding trips to take Jefferson to and from Washington D.C. or de Virginia capitaw. Betty Hemings, a mixed-race swave inherited from his fader-in-waw wif her famiwy, was de matriarch and head of de house swaves at Monticewwo, who were awwowed wimited freedom when Jefferson was away. Four of her daughters served as house swaves: Betty Brown; Nance, Critta and Sawwy Hemings. The watter two were hawf-sisters to Jefferson's wife. Anoder house swave was Ursuwa, whom he had purchased separatewy. The generaw maintenance of de mansion was under de care of Hemings famiwy members as weww: de master carpenter was Betty's son John Hemings. His nephews Joe Fossett, as bwacksmif, and Burweww Cowbert, as Jefferson's butwer and painter, awso had important rowes. Wormwey Hughes, a grandson of Betty Hemings and gardener, was given informaw freedom after Jefferson's deaf.[109] Memoirs of wife at Monticewwo incwude dose of Isaac Jefferson (pubwished, 1843), Madison Hemings, and Israew Jefferson (bof pubwished, 1873). Isaac was an enswaved bwacksmif who worked on Jefferson's pwantation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[121][122]

The wast surviving recorded interview of a former swave was wif Fountain Hughes, den 101, in Bawtimore, Marywand in 1949. It is avaiwabwe onwine at de Library of Congress and de Worwd Digitaw Library.[123] Born in Charwottesviwwe, Fountain was a descendant of Wormwey Hughes and Ursuwa Granger; his grandparents were among de house swaves owned by Jefferson at Monticewwo.[124]

Two major exhibitions opening in 2012 addressed swavery at Monticewwo: de Smidsonian cowwaborated wif Monticewwo in Swavery at Jefferson's Monticewwo: The Paradox of Liberty, hewd in Washington, D.C. It addresses Jefferson as swavehowder and traces de wives of six major swave famiwies, incwuding Hemings and Granger, and deir descendants who worked in de househowd.

In 1780, Jefferson began answering qwestions on de cowonies asked by French minister François de Marboias. He worked on what became a book for five years, having it printed in France whiwe he was dere as U.S. minister in 1785.[125] The book covered subjects such as mountains, rewigion, cwimate, swavery, and race.[126]

In Query XIV of his Notes, Jefferson anawyses de nature of Bwacks. He stated dat Bwacks wacked foredought, intewwigence, tenderness, grief, imagination, and beauty, but conceded dat dey were de moraw eqwaws of aww oders,[127] a concession Howowchak avers is prodigious and one dat no racist wouwd make, given Jefferson's view, consistent wif moraw-sense and moraw-sentiment deorists of his day, dat reason was a facuwty inferior to and in de service of de moraw sense.[128] Jefferson bewieved dat de bonds of wove for bwacks were weaker dan dose for whites.[129] Jefferson never settwed on wheder differences were naturaw or nurturaw, but he stated unqwestionabwy dat his views ought to be taken cum grano sawis;

The opinion, dat dey are inferior in de facuwties of reason and imagination, must be hazarded wif great diffidence. To justify a generaw concwusion, reqwires many observations, even where de subject may be submitted to de Anatomicaw knife, to Opticaw gwasses, to anawysis by fire or by sowvents. How much more den where it is a facuwty, not a substance, we are examining; where it ewudes de research of aww de senses; where de conditions of its existence are various and variouswy combined; where de effects of dose which are present or absent bid defiance to cawcuwation; wet me add too, as a circumstance of great tenderness, where our concwusion wouwd degrade a whowe race of men from de rank in de scawe of beings which deir Creator may perhaps have given dem. To our reproach it must be said, dat dough for a century and a hawf we have had under our eyes de races of bwack and of red men, dey have never yet been viewed by us as subjects of naturaw history. I advance it, derefore, as a suspicion onwy, dat de bwacks, wheder originawwy a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to de whites in de endowments bof of body and mind. It is not against experience to suppose dat different species of de same genus, or varieties of de same species, may possess different qwawifications.[130]

In 1808, de French abowitionist and priest Henri-Baptiste Grégoire, or Abbé Grégoire, sent President Jefferson a copy of his book, An Enqwiry Concerning de Intewwectuaw and Moraw Facuwties and Literature of Negroes. In his text, he responded to and chawwenged Jefferson's arguments of African inferiority in Notes on Virginia by citing de advanced civiwizations Africans had devewoped as evidence of deir intewwectuaw competence.[131][132] Jefferson repwied to Grégoire dat de rights of African Americans shouwd not depend on intewwigence and dat Africans had "respectabwe intewwigence."[133] Jefferson wrote of de bwack race,

but whatever be deir degree of tawent it is no measure of deir rights. Because Sir Isaac Newton was superior to oders in understanding, he was not derefore word of de person or property of oders. On dis subject dey are gaining daiwy in de opinions of nations, and hopefuw advances are making towards deir re-estabwishment on an eqwaw footing wif de oder cowors of de human famiwy.[134][133]

In his Notes Jefferson wrote of a pwan he supported in 1779 in de Virginia wegiswature dat wouwd end swavery drough de cowonization of freed swaves.[136] This pwan was widewy popuwar among de French peopwe in 1785 who wauded Jefferson as a phiwosopher. According to Jefferson, dis pwan reqwired enswaved aduwts to continue in swavery but deir chiwdren wouwd be taken from dem and trained to have a skiww in de arts or sciences. These skiwwed women at age 18 and men at 21 wouwd be emancipated, given arms and suppwies, and sent to cowonize a foreign wand.[136] Jefferson bewieved dat cowonization was de practicaw awternative, whiwe freed bwacks wiving in a white American society wouwd wead to a race war.[137]

In Notes Jefferson criticized de effects swavery had on bof white and African-American swave society. He writes:

There must doubtwess be an unhappy infwuence on de manners of our peopwe produced by de existence of swavery among us. The whowe commerce between master and swave is a perpetuaw exercise of de most boisterous passions, de most unremitting despotism on de one part, and degrading submissions on de oder. Our chiwdren see dis, and wearn to imitate it; for man is an imitative animaw. This qwawity is de germ of aww education in him. From his cradwe to his grave he is wearning to do what he sees oders do. If a parent couwd find no motive eider in his phiwandropy or his sewf-wove, for restraining de intemperance of passion towards his swave, it shouwd awways be a sufficient one dat his chiwd is present. But generawwy it is not sufficient. The parent storms, de chiwd wooks on, catches de wineaments of wraf, puts on de same airs in de circwe of smawwer swaves, gives a woose to his worst of passions, and dus nursed, educated, and daiwy exercised in tyranny, cannot but be stamped by it wif odious pecuwiarities. The man must be a prodigy who can retain his manners and moraws undepraved by such circumstances. And wif what execration shouwd de statesman be woaded, who permitting one hawf de citizens dus to trampwe on de rights of de oder, transforms dose into despots, and dese into enemies, destroys de moraws of de one part, and de amor patriae of de oder.

The wanguage is not about Bwacks and Whites, but about swaves and swavehowders. Swavery is degenerative of bof.

According to James W. Loewen, Jefferson's character "wrestwed wif swavery, even dough in de end he wost." Loewen says dat understanding Jefferson's rewationship wif swavery is significant in understanding current American sociaw probwems.[138]

Important 20f-century Jefferson biographers incwuding Merriww Peterson support de view dat Jefferson was strongwy opposed to swavery; Peterson said dat Jefferson's ownership of swaves "aww his aduwt wife has pwaced him at odds wif his moraw and powiticaw principwes. Yet dere can be no qwestion of his genuine hatred of swavery or, indeed, of de efforts he made to curb and ewiminate it."[139] Peter Onuf stated dat Jefferson was weww known for his "opposition to swavery, most famouswy expressed in his ... Notes on de State of Virginia."[140] Onuf, and his cowwaborator Ari Hewo, inferred from Jefferson's words and actions dat he was against de cohabitation of free bwacks and whites.[141] This, dey argued, is what made immediate emancipation so probwematic in Jefferson's mind. As Onuf and Hewo expwained, Jefferson opposed de mixing of de races not because of his bewief dat bwacks were inferior (awdough he did bewieve dis) but because he feared dat instantwy freeing de swaves in white territory wouwd trigger "genocidaw viowence". He couwd not imagine de bwacks wiving in harmony wif deir former oppressors. Jefferson was sure dat de two races wouwd be in constant confwict. Onuf and Hewo asserted dat Jefferson was, conseqwentwy, a proponent of freeing de Africans drough "expuwsion", which he dought wouwd have ensured de safety of bof de whites and bwacks. Biographer John Ferwing said dat Thomas Jefferson was "zeawouswy committed to swavery's abowition".[142]

Starting in de earwy 1960s, some academics began to chawwenge Jefferson's position as an anti-swavery advocate having reevawuated bof his actions and his words.[143][144] Pauw Finkewman wrote in 1994 dat earwier schowars, particuwarwy Peterson, Dumas Mawone, and Wiwward Randaww, engaged in "exaggeration or misrepresentation" to advance deir argument of Jefferson's anti-swavery position, saying "dey ignore contrary evidence" and "paint a fawse picture" to protect Jefferson's image on swavery.[145] Academics incwuding Wiwwiam Freehwing, Windrop Jordan[146] and David Brion Davis have criticized Jefferson for his wack of action in trying to end swavery in de United States, incwuding not freeing his own swaves, rader dan for his views. Davis noted dat awdough Jefferson was a proponent of eqwawity in earwier years, after 1789 and his return to de US from France (when he is bewieved to have started a rewationship wif his swave Sawwy Hemings), he was notabwe for his "immense siwence" on de topic of swavery. He did support prohibition of de importing of swaves into de United States, but took no actions rewated to de domestic institution, uh-hah-hah-hah. At de time, de internaw swave trade was growing dramaticawwy and wouwd move one miwwion peopwe in forced migrations from de East Coast and Upper Souf to de Deep Souf, breaking up numerous swave famiwies.

In 2012, audor Henry Wiencek, highwy criticaw of Jefferson, concwuded dat Jefferson tried to protect his wegacy as a Founding Fader by hiding swavery from visitors at Monticewwo and drough his writings to abowitionists.[147] According to Wiencek's view Jefferson made a new frontage road to his Monticewwo estate to hide de overseers and swaves who worked de agricuwture fiewds. Wiencek bewieved dat Jefferson's "soft answers" to abowitionists were to make himsewf appear opposed to swavery.[147] Wiencek stated dat Jefferson hewd enormous powiticaw power but "did noding to hasten swavery's end during his terms as a dipwomat, secretary of state, vice president, and twice-ewected president or after his presidency."[147]

According to Greg Warnusz, Jefferson hewd typicaw 19f-century bewiefs dat bwacks were inferior to whites in terms of "potentiaw for citizenship", and he wanted dem recowonized to independent Liberia and oder cowonies. His views of a democratic society were based on a homogeneity of working men which was de cuwturaw normawity droughout most of de worwd in dose days. He cwaimed to be interested in hewping bof races in his proposaw. He proposed graduawwy freeing swaves after de age of 45 (when dey wouwd have repaid deir owner's investment) and resettwing dem in Africa. (This proposaw did not acknowwedge how difficuwt it wouwd be for freedmen to be settwed in anoder country and environment after age 45.) Jefferson's pwan envisioned a whites-onwy society widout any bwacks.[33]

Of aww de Founding Faders, it was Thomas Jefferson for whom de issue of race woomed wargest. In de rowes of swavehowder, pubwic officiaw and famiwy man, de rewationship between bwacks and whites was someding he dought about, wrote about and grappwed wif from his cradwe to his grave.[148]

According to historian Jeremy J. Teweww, awdough Jefferson's name had been associated wif de anti-swavery cause during de earwy 1770s in de Virginia wegiswature, Jefferson viewed swavery as a "Soudern way of wife", simiwar to mainstream Greek and antiqwity societies. In agreement wif de Soudern swave society, Jefferson bewieved dat swavery served to protect bwacks, whom he viewed as inferior or incapabwe of taking care of demsewves.[150] Historians such as Peter Kowchin and Ira Berwin have noted dat by Jefferson's time, Virginia and oder soudern cowonies had become "swave societies," in which swavery was de main mode of wabor production and de swavehowding cwass hewd de powiticaw power.

According to Joyce Appweby, Jefferson had opportunities to disassociate himsewf from swavery. In 1782, after de American Revowution, Virginia passed a waw making manumission by de swave owner wegaw and more easiwy accompwished, and de manumission rate rose across de Upper Souf in oder states as weww. Nordern states passed various emancipation pwans. Jefferson's actions did not keep up wif dose of de antiswavery advocates.[8] On September 15, 1793, Jefferson agreed in writing to free James Hemings, his mixed-race swave who had served him as chef since deir time in Paris, after de swave had trained his younger broder Peter as a repwacement chef. Jefferson finawwy freed James Hemings in February 1796. According to one historian, Jefferson's manumission was not generous; he said de document "undermines any notion of benevowence."[151] Wif freedom, Hemings worked in Phiwadewphia and travewed to France.[152] About de same time, in 1794 Jefferson awwowed James' owder broder Robert Hemings to buy his freedom. These were de onwy two swaves Jefferson freed by manumission in his wifetime. (They were bof broders of Sawwy Hemings, bewieved to be Jefferson's concubine.)

M. Andrew Howowchak enjoins us to be chary of de fawwacy of historicaw anachronism—imposition of 21st-century vawues on figures who wived in a past considerabwy different from our time. He says: "The qwestion to be asked, which is never asked by de harshest denigrators, is dis: Were Jefferson awive today, wouwd he suffer a sea change vis-à-vis his opinions of Bwacks’ physicaw and mentaw inferiority? There is no doubt dat he wouwd."[153]

By contrast, so many oder swavehowders in Virginia freed swaves in de first two decades after de Revowution dat de proportion of free bwacks in Virginia compared to de totaw bwack popuwation rose from wess dan 1% in 1790 to 7.2% in 1810.[154] By den, dree-qwarters of de swaves in Dewaware had been freed, and a high proportion of swaves in Marywand.[154]

^Jefferson's Bwood, PBS Frontwine, 2000. Section: "Is It True?" Quote: "[T]he new scientific evidence has been correwated wif de existing documentary record, and a consensus of historians and oder experts who have examined de issue agree dat de qwestion has wargewy been answered: Thomas Jefferson fadered at weast one of Sawwy Hemings's chiwdren, and qwite probabwy aww six.", accessed 26 September 2014

^Nationaw Museum of African American History and Cuwture in Partnership wif de Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticewwo. "Life at de Monticewwo Pwantation: Treatment". Swavery at Jefferson's Monticewwo – Paradox of Liberty]: Exhibition at de Smidsonian InstitutionNationaw Museum of African American History and Cuwture, January 27 – October 14, 2012. Charwottesviwwe, Virginia: Monticewwo.org. Archived from de originaw on March 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-11. Stating dat it was his "first wish" dat his swaves be "weww treated," Jefferson struggwed to bawance humane treatment wif a need for profit. He tried to minimize de den-common use of harsh physicaw punishment and used financiaw incentives rader dan force to encourage his artisans. He instructed his overseers not to whip swaves, but his wishes were often ignored during his freqwent absences from home.

Root, Erik S. Aww Honor to Jefferson? The Virginia Swavery Debates and de Positive Good Thesis (Lexington Books, 2008), argues Jefferson was committed to a timewess ideaw of freedom and eqwawity, which was reversed by Virginia after his deaf